A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Pakistan summons US ambassador after Donald Trump’s tweet against the country: Pakistani Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir-Khan rebuked the tweet and said that though Islamabad was its ally, America had given it nothing but mistrust.  
  2. Modi should not take credit for what Saudi authorities did, says Owaisi: The prime minister had said his government had changed the rule to allow women over 45 to travel for the pilgrimage without a male companion.  
  3. One dead, more than 40 vehicles torched during clashes at Bhima Koregaon near Pune: Police officials said no arrests have been made yet.  
  4. Pollution levels rise to ‘severe’ on New Year’s Day in Delhi: People burst firecrackers in the national Capital on December 31 to welcome the new year, contributing to the decline in air quality.  
  5. Pakistani government to take over charities, financial assets linked to Hafiz Saeed, reports Reuters: Islamabad reportedly explained its plans to seize the assets in a secret order to several federal and provincial departments on December 19.  
  6. India’s core sector grows by 6.8% in November 2017, the highest this financial year: Cement and steel were the biggest drivers of growth.  
  7. IFS officer Vijay Keshav Gokhale appointed foreign secretary: Gokhale was earlier the economic relations secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.  
  8. Hundreds of vehicles burnt in fire at multi-storey car park in England’s Liverpool: Initial investigation showed an accidental fire inside a vehicle caused other cars to ignite, the police said.  
  9. Telangana government launches scheme providing 24x7 free power supply to farmers: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao described the scheme as a New Year’s gift for the farmers in the state.  
  10. Medical association calls for suspension of private healthcare services across India on Tuesday: The organisation’s president called the National Medical Commission Bill anti-poor, anti-people, non-representative, undemocratic and anti-federal in character.